Since the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant, Vanessa Bryant and the family have done everything in their power to keep their memory alive forever. This time, she’s protecting the beloved ‘Mamba’ brand.
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According to TMZ, an attorney for the Bryant family filed the trademark application for ‘Mamba’ and ‘Mambacita’ on March 10. The plan is to use the trademark for clothing, such as shirts, pants, socks, hoodies, jackets, and more. As of now, there’s no clear mention if a sneaker line will be birthed under the brand.
Since their untimely passing, Kobe’s estate has filed for several trademarks, including ‘Mamba Sports Academy,’ ‘Mambacita,’ ‘Lady Mambas,’ and ‘Lil Mambas.’
After playing in the NBA for 20 years, Kobe spent his retirement being a coach and mentor to the next generation of ballers at the Mamba Sports Academy, a training facility he opened in two California locations for children interested in sports. Gianna, 13, was a player for the Mambas girl’s team.
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Throughout his career and after, Kobe was affectionately known as the Black Mamba, a nickname he gave himself after experiencing a dark period in his life. In his 2015 documentary, Muse, Kobe explained that he created the alter ego to deal with the struggles he was going through off the court circa 2003.
“I went from a person who was at the top of his game, had everything coming, to a year later, having absolutely no idea where life is going or if you are even going to be a part of life as we all know it,” Bryant revealed in the documentary.
“I had to separate myself,” Kobe explains. “It felt like there were so many things coming at once. It was just becoming very, very confusing. I had to organize things. So I created The Black Mamba.”
He further explained that while Kobe was dealing with real-life personal issues, Black Mamba was responsible for handling business on the basketball court.
The nickname ‘Black Mamba’ came from Quentin Tarantino‘s cult-classic, Kill Bill.
As Gianna started to make a name for herself with her impressive basketball skills, similar to those of her father, it only made sense that she adapted the nickname “Mambacita.”
Earlier this month, theGrio reported that Vanessa Bryant was the latest cover of People Magazine, in which she explained how despite the pain after their loss, her husband and daughter still “motivate her.”
Bryant was interviewed for the ‘Women Changing the World’ issue, exclusively telling the magazine, “This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward. Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”
Bryant has been working tirelessly to continue the work Kobe left behind, helping cement his legacy while also healing from the unimaginable loss. She reportedly took over Granity Studios (Kobe’s multimedia company) and also relaunched his charitable non-profit as the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.
The foundation is dedicated to “creating positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports” and “provides funding and sports programming for underserved athletes to enable participation in school and/or league sports that enrich socio-emotional and physical development.”
Bryant is still incredibly busy with her daughters, Natalia, 18, Bianka, 4, and Capri, 20 months, and opens up about how much they mean to her in the interview. She explains, “My girls help me smile through the pain. They give me strength.”
Bryant also reveals to PEOPLE that Kobe and Gianna inspire her to push forward every day, saying, “I guess the best way to describe it is that Kobe and Gigi motivate me to keep going. They inspire me to try harder and be better every day. Their love is unconditional and they motivate me in so many different ways.”
She continues, “I want to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud.”
This article contains additional reporting from theGrio’s Jared Alexander.
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